My mind tells me to go out to the garden to plant onions. My body walks out the back door and starts filling up my new Vegogarden. The instructions recommend Hugelkultur–a fast way to build a raised bed. The bottom layer is cardboard–starting with the box the kit arrived in. Next, I walk in the woods,Read more about The Body Knows[…]
Snow has melted off the septic tank–a sure sign of spring. The elements are in motion: snow (water element) is melting due to the heat (fire element) of the septic tank. The earth (earth element) plus water and warmth give rise to tiny crocuses wavering in the spring breeze (air element). We, too, rely onRead more about Septic Tank Melting[…]
I’m taking cuttings of my houseplants–begonias, geraniums, purple-leaved wandering jew–to root in jars of water. Leggy begonias and leggy geraniums don’t root that easily. But roots sprout very easily from a place on the stem where a new offshoot of growth is just beginning. The Buddha gave us several lists of skillful qualities, and it’sRead more about Rooting Cuttings[…]
At 10 degrees F. our fish pond is frozen. The circulating pump is on, but is there a hole in the ice to aerate the water for the goldfish? I trudge through the snow to the pond, ax in hand. It’s a delicate operation to chop through the ice and not chop the pump orRead more about Chop Water, Carry Wood[…]
I have learned from experience that our little fishpond needs to be aerated in the winter because the two dozen goldfish in the pond need oxygen in the water. They have to breathe too. My sweetie fusses with the little circulating pump so that it will hang just right–an inch under the surface, circulating waterRead more about Circulator[…]
Conditions are right for ice needles when the ground is not frozen but the air is. The water in the ground freezes before the dirt does, giving rise to beautiful prisms of ice, which extrude out of the ground like pasta. One of my gardens, which i now see has seeping water not far belowRead more about Ice Needles[…]
I’ve always wanted a spring on my property. (Be careful what you wish for.) I suddenly see a puddle of water in the middle of a flower bed. The nearby fishpond is frozen, but this little puddle is not. The water in the puddle moves ever so subtly, but it is moving. The water isRead more about A Spring Springs Up[…]
Finally, here at the end of the month, April showers are raining down. We are in a 2-year drought here in New England, so it’s wonderful to watch the grass grow greener by the hour. All the flowers are taking showers. Leaves on trees unfurl. The water element prevails today–a welcome respite after weeks ofRead more about April Showers[…]